The Sessions

The Sessions centres on Padraig, an operations director at a successful Irish IT firm recently acquired by a large American corporation. It begins dramatically with Padraig, overwhelmed by anger and frustration, throwing his briefcase—containing his irrelevant presentation—into the River Liffey after learning the American parent company plans to move the entire business "Stateside" for "optimization." This leads him into a Dublin pub where he strikes up a profound, chance conversation with an anonymous, insightful stranger. Thus begins the “sessions” in which the stranger becomes Padraig’s coach and mentors him  through the challenges and frustrations facing him.

The Sessions is an original business book, written in fiction format, in which we learn real-world business success requires political acumen, and which emphasizes lessons about leadership development and the value of an external perspective. Through these coaching sessions, we see Padraig moving from despair to action, as he secures a meeting with the CEO and successfully pitches his alternative plan, winning the business a “stay of execution”.